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Former Kent State football players and current Cleveland Browns Josh Cribbs and Abe Elam will return to Kent next week as special guests on the ‘Inside Kent State Sports’ show. The show will take place as it always does at the Water Street Tavern in downtown Kent on Thursday, October 8. The show will air from 6:00 to 8:00P.M. on Fox Sports Radio 1350 AM and sportsradio1350.com. The broadcast will feature a Homecoming game preview as well as previews to the men’s and women’s basketball teams for the 2009-10 season. Cribbs and Elam will be available afterwards to meet fans. The doors open at 4:00P.M.

Kent State QB Spencer Keith is off to a very good start in his college football career. Keith is one of only five true freshmen in the country to start at quarterback this season. Keith leads the MAC and is 34th nationally with a 149.40 passer rating. As a senior last year at Pulaski Academy, Keith led the country with 5,310 passing yards while leading his team to an Arkansas state championship. His head coach Kevin Kelley did not believe in punting the football on fourth down so it was up to Keith to make a play. The Daily Kent Stater profiled Keith in today’s paper.

It's been a good past few days for the Kent State women's soccer program. The team opened MAC play with two home wins this past weekend over Ball State and Miami to improve their record to 6-3-0 and 2-0 in the MAC. Kent State sophomore goalkeeper Kelly Sherwood was named MAC Player of the Week for her back to back shutout effort over the weekend. Sherwood was also named the Kent State Athlete of the Week. Yesterday it was announced that Ron Zoeller, a letter winner for the KSU men's soccer program in the 1960's, is donating $125,ooo to the program that will kick start the rennovation of the Kent State soccer field.

Kent State football's kick returner Anthony Bowman and place kicker Freddy Cortez were both recognized by College Football Performance Awards. Each player earned Honorable Mention accolades. Cortez was also named MAC East Special Teams Player of the Week for his three field goal performance in a 29-19 win against Miami on Saturday.

Kent State defeated Miami on Saturday night at wet, soggy Dix Stadium 29-19. You can pick apart the statistics all you want. Miami had more first downs (26 to 13), more plays ran (91 to 52), more total yards (552 to 250), more time of possession (34:38 to 24:19) and a much better third down conversion rate (9/17 to 2/11), but Kent State found a way to win the game, that in year's past they may have given away. The story of the game was Kent State forcing five turnovers and not committing any of their own. The game was also largely about field position. Kent State is turning special teams into its friend instead of its foe after several years of dismal play in the kicking game. Freshman place kicker Freddy Cortez was a cool customer on Saturday night, kicking three field goals including the one that sealed the game with 1:19 left. Jacquise Terry returned to running back from wide receiver and ran for 103 yards on 15 carries.

As always, Kent State fans can tune in tonight from 6:00-7:00P.M. and listen to the 'Inside Kent State Sports' show from the Water Street Tavern in Kent. If you can't be there in person, listen in at AM 1350 or www.sportsradio1350.com.

Steve Hare from the Kent Sports Report is reporting that QB Giorgio Morgan was at full go in practice on Wednesday. We will see how it plays out Saturday with Spencer Keith in the mix as well. Expect Keith to start and take most if not all of the snaps vs. the RedHawks. Hare also reports that starting guard Mike Fay has torn his meniscus. He'll have surgery on Saturday and could be back in two weeks. Dante Campbell will jump back into the starting spot in place of Fay. Also, LB Dorian Wood suffered a concussion against Iowa State so freshman Luke Batton (Nordonia) will make the start in his place.

Kent State won't be the only team to start a freshman quarterback on Saturday night. Miami head coach Mike Haywood announced that Zac Dysert will make the start at Dix Stadium against Spencer Keith and the Golden Flashes. In relief duty last weekend in a 26-48 loss at Western Michigan, Dysert directed two straight touchdowns in the second half. Miami's offense had been struggling under QB Daniel Raudabaugh, going ten quarters without scoring any points to start the season. Dysert, an Ada native, ranks second in Ohio High School history with 11, 174 yards in Ada's pass happy offense.

Former Kent State QB Julian Edelman had a big day in his first regular season NFL game on Sunday afternoon. Filling in for an injured Wes Welker, Edelman debuted with eight catches for 98 yards. The Patriots lost to the Jets 16-9 but it was good to see Julian get his chance. Edelman also had two kick returns for 39 yards and a punt return for two yards. The Boston Herald writes about Edelman's debut here.

David Carducci was not shy in sharing his opinions on the Kent State football program in today's Record Courier. After watching Saturday's game and following the team for several years, it is hard not to agree with the article.

Before a second even ticked off the clock in Saturday night's game against Iowa State, KSU had made a mistake. An off sides penalty coupled with a late hit out of bounds on the opening kickoff set Iowa State up at the KSU 38 yard line. The opening kickoff set the tone for the entire game. Austen Arnaud ran, threw, and conducted the Cyclones' offense flawlessly in a 34-14 victory at Dix Stadium. The victory snaps a 17 game road losing streak for Iowa State. With four lost fumbles, an interception and eight penalties for 69 yards, Kent State was more than happy to lend a helping hand to Iowa State. True freshman Spencer Keith looked impressive in his first collegiate start. The Arkansas native was 21-32 for 255 yards and two touchdowns. Head coach Doug Martin said Keith was the only player on offense who "didn't play like a freshman."

The Kent State football team is moving on without Eugene Jarvis, and most likely QB Giorgio Morgan for this week anyway. Head coach Doug Martin said that if Morgan has any sign of a limp, he will not play in Saturday's game vs. Iowa State. Expect to see Spencer Keith start on Saturday night as the Big 12's Cyclones come to Kent. Anthony Magazu could come in to spell Keith during the game to give Keith a chance to settle down and watch the game for a series. While Kent State fans are still trying to get over the news of Jarvis, the Kent State running back position has the most depth on the team. That's a point I didn't want to be making after two weeks of play because someone got hurt.

Boston College dominated Kent State on Saturday afternoon, winning easily 34-7. Two blown coverages in the first half led to wide open receivers who hauled in touchdown passes. Leading 24-0 at halftime, BC cruised from there. Brian Lainhart intercepted his second pass of the season and Spencer Keith threw his first career touchdown pass. More to come...

Boston College coach Frank Spaziani talked to the media this morning as part of the ACC football coaches teleconference and NewsFlashes was listening in. Kent State visits Boston College for a 2P.M. kickoff on Saturday.

“First of all we were very excited, obviously, to start off with a victory, getting your first victory is always the hardest one. I don’t mean myself personally, I mean football teams.”

Kent State alumnus and ESPN college football analyst Lou Holtz '59 returns to Kent State tonight as part of the Centennial Starner Distinguished Speaker Series. Lou Holtz played linebacker for the Golden Flashes in 1957 and wore #52. The legendary former college football coach will speak in the Student Center Ballroom. Tickets for the speech sold out in less than a week after going on sale June 1. 250 tickets will remain for a simulcast of the speech and will be held in the Kiva in the Kent State Student Center. Tickets are free and will be on sale at the MAC Center from 8:30-4:30 and at the Kiva starting at 5:30. Holtz will share his life experiences as part of his speech entitled, "If You Didn't Show Up, Who Would Miss You And Why?".

Dave Carducci from the Record Courier checks in today with his KSU Notebook including Giorgio Morgan earning the respect of his teammates while playing through pain, the offensive line needing to improve especially in pass protection, LB Cobrani Mixon being honored and being a leader on the KSU defense and an injury update.

Kent State will be the large underdog when they travel to Boston College for a 2P.M. game with the Eagles on Saturday afternoon. However redshirt sophomore QB Giorgio Morgan has the confidence that he and his teammates can pull the upset. The biggest challenges this week will be trying to run the football against a big, physical defensive line and stopping BC's running game behind their massive offensive line. Jonas Fortune writes about the upcoming game this week.

In last week's win over Coastal Carolina, Morgan suffered a mild ankle sprain and played the rest of the game with a nagging limp. Anthony Magazu was not healthy enough to come into the game and it doesn't look like he will be healthy enough to be the backup this week either. That means Doug Martin might need freshman Spencer Keith ready to go as the second quarterback. Martin would ideally like to redshirt the Arkansas native, but will feel comfortable about putting Keith into the game from a mental aspect. All reports from training camp was that Keith was very impressive and picked up the offense very well.

Eugene Jarvis and the defense led Kent State to an 18-0 victory over the Chanticleers from Coastal Carolina on Thursday night at Dix Stadium in the opener for both teams. Jarvis was a work horse, rushing for 141 yards on 27 carries. His two punt returns help set up both KSU's touchdowns. The defense was steady, notching Kent State's first shutout since 1994, a span of 163 games.

Eugene Jarvis and the Kent State running backs have a chance to be the deepest, most talented, diverse group of running backs in the MAC this season. In 2008 Kent State led the MAC in rushing and was 11th in the nation. Behind an experienced offensive line, the rushing attack figures to be strong again in 2009. That rushing attack should help ease redshirt sophomore quarterback Giorgio Morgan as he starts his first full season at the helm of the Golden Flashes' offense. Elton Alexander from The Plain Dealer writes about the Kent State backs here.